As the demand for more efficiency in vehicles increases with the government and some consumers in the U.S., some drivers are starting to consider vehicles that previously weren't popular options. One of the efficient options that consumers are starting to take notice of is the diesel engine. Clean diesels are one of the technologies that several major automakers are now looking into.

The Detroit News reports that as of now diesel sales in the U.S. are less than 3% of the total sales, which is expected to change. One of the new diesel vehicles coming to the market is from a domestic manufacturer; Chevrolet will introduce a diesel version of Cruze in 2013. For GM, bringing the diesel Cruz to the U.S. has little risk since it already sells diesel cars in other countries.

The Chevrolet Cruze Diesel will arrive in '13

Other automakers are looking to diesel cars as well with Mazda expecting to launch a new diesel engine in 2013, and the recipient is likely to be the all-new CX-5 small crossover utility vehicle. German automakers Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes all offer diesel-powered vehicles in the U.S.

Some suppliers to automakers like Robert Bosch LLC are predicting that diesel sales will grow to be 10% of the U.S. market over the next decade. Diesel cars are very popular in Europe where gasoline is expensive and diesel is more cost effective.

And it's not only economy cars that will be going diesel -- some performance cars are moving to diesel engines. BMW is expected to launch a diesel version of the M5 next year.

Mazda is widely expected to bring a diesel version of the new CX-5 to the U.S.

The big draw for diesel engines is that the engines are often more durable, produce more torque, and they are 20 to 30% more efficient.

1) EU mpg figures are based on the UK's imperial gallons, which is 4.55 liters. The U.S. uses liquid gallons, which are 3.79 liters.

2) The EU uses a different mileage testing cycle than the U.S., which involves much less stop-and-go and lower average highway speeds. Consequently, EU mileage ratings (or liters per 100 km, as they use there) are significantly higher than U.S. EPA mileage ratings. The 2011 CR-Z works out to 38.6 | 53.4 mpg by the two EU ratings (roughly, city | highway). Under EPA tests the same car gets the equivalent of 30.9 | 36.8 mpg.

3) Diesel contains more matter (and energy) per unit volume than gasoline. To equalize the two in terms of mass, you need to reduce diesel's mileage by about 12%. Diesel also emits more pollutants, and the recommendation to equalize for that is to reduce diesel's mileage by 20%.

Trying to explain this to people over and over is like bashing your head against your desk repeatedly, while some jackoff tells you that the same desk in Europe would somehow cushion the impact and reduce the bleeding.

Even the TLDR version is too complex. I recommend resorting to grunts and chest thumps.

1 + 2. What? He's comparing EU vs EU. eg. Ford Mondeo - 65mpg vs 40 mpg (source: Ford Mondeo UK). OK, so he's embellishing, but that's still a whole 25mpg better. Converting is roughly 1 US mpg = 1.2 UK mpg (source: http://www.mpgtokpl.com/ ). 65 UK mpg is STILL 54 US mpg. Ridiculously bad hybrids like a Lexus LS 600h only have 25 US mpg using EU tests (source: Lexus UK). You'd have to compare to the smuggest of smugmobiles at 72 UK mpg, and frankly, the Prius is HIDEOUS compared to the new Fusions (rather nice for a run-of-the-mill family sedan) and I don't think that constitutes a COMPARison.

3. Assigning arbitrary percentages and swings to the environmental cost of diesel? Well, this was about $/m, but hey, let's play YOUR game. I could argue that because Diesel is denser, it is therefore more efficient to transport, requiring 40% less trucks to deliver the same number of miles produced. And how the hell does pollutants affect mpg? Even if we used your silly equivalency numbers 60% more miles delivered -12% -20% is still 28% more miles delivered, still outweighing the extra 10% cost (some places sell diesel 20% CHEAPER, so there's some benefit of doubt in your favor).

Also, did you know that gasoline is worse than gasoline? Wait, what? Yep. Mythbusters, season 9, episode 13. OK, Mythbuster numbers aren't the best, but they give a rough idea. Apples and oranges!

TL;DR: If you're going to bash someone, at least do the research. Also, apples and oranges.